Attachments
Date: 22 May 2023
Time: 8:30 – 10:00AM EDT
Location: UN Headquarters Conference Room 11
**Background **
For 75 years, United Nations peacekeepers have worked to save and change lives in the world’s most fragile political and security situations. Since 1948, more than two million uniformed and civilian personnel have helped countries avoid conflict and transition from war to peace and progress. As we recognize this long history of UN Peacekeeping this year, we take the opportunity to consider the role of UN peacekeeping operations in protecting civilians from threats of physical violence. The protection of civilians today is a priority mandate for more than 95% of all peacekeepers and central to the overall aim of peacekeeping – supporting transitions from conflict to sustainable peace.
Next year, the international community will mark 25 years since the United Nations Security Council took up the Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict on its agenda, and 25 years since the United Nations Assistance Mission in Sierra Leone, UNAMSIL, was the first peacekeeping operation explicitly mandated to use all necessary means to protect civilians at risk. Since 1999, every new UN peacekeeping mission established by the Security Council has been given a Protection of Civilians mandate; delivering on this mandate has become one of the most important standards by which the performance of the UN and its peacekeeping missions are judged.
This high-level side-event is intended to kick-off a year of reflection on the progress we have made, the challenges we face, and our future direction for protecting civilians through UN peacekeeping operations. The event will also contribute to the lead up to the 2023 UN Peacekeeping Ministerial meeting in Ghana, for which the Protection of Civilians will be a central theme, among others.